Jennie+Kuba

On June 20, 1929, 28-year-old Jennie Kuba died at Chicago hospital from an abortion believed to have been performed by midwife Mary Zwieniczak.

Zwienczak was arrested July 13.

The coroner also recommended the arrest of Dr. Joseph Mienczak, who assisted Zwieniczak, as an accessory.

The grand jury handed down an indictment of homicide.

Midwives and physicians frequently ran quasi-open abortion practices in Chicago during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which of course would have made Jennie's abortion typical of those perpetrated in that time and place.



Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see [|Abortion in the 1920s]. For more on pre-legalization abortion, see [|The Bad Old Days of Abortion] Source:


 * [|Homicide in Chicago Interactive]

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